By IANS,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Saturday offered a slew of sops for the small and medium industries in the 2014-15 budget for the state.
Be it iron and steel industries or cottage sector set up by self-help groups (SHGs), Raman Singh who also holds the finance portfolio, proposed a series of tax reliefs that include reducing the Central Sales Tax from two percent to one percent on goods manufactured by industries based in the state.
Presenting the Rs.54,710 crore tax-free budget, the chief minister also proposed waiver of entry tax on iron ore pellets and billets imported by small and medium steel industries from outside the state to ensure there is adequate supply of raw materials.
Similarly, Value Added Tax or VAT is proposed to be reduced from five percent to two percent on bicycle and its parts manufactured by local industries.
He has proposed entry tax on coking coal, imported by Bhilai Steel Plant, to be reduced from six percent to one percent. In a boost to the bauxite industries, he proposed entry tax on bauxite be reduced from three percent to one percent.